Automation with Purpose: How Abel Carrasco Balances Innovation and Human-Centric Design

At the Michigan plant of Edscha Automotive, production is characterized by the minute precision that echoes the years of steady refinement of Abel Carrasco. The plant director from Mexico changed the methods so that the machines worked precisely, and the workers kept their control and dignity.

The first indicators during his management presented huge achievements in throughput, equipment effectiveness, and workplace safety. Management documents and reference letters report that cycle times fell significantly, backlog shrank, and injury rates dropped as processes stabilized.

Carrasco's record includes reworking actuator assembly lines for major clients and redesigning flocking lines for dampers. His methods focus on measurable outcomes: higher yield, lower scrap, and improved operational consistency. Staff who had resisted change grew comfortable with new systems once they saw reductions in repetitive strain and clearer pathways for skill development. "A machine should extend a worker's reach, not replace their purpose," Carrasco has said, and the plant's performance data provide direct evidence of that principle.

Engineering with Empathy

Carrasco draws on decades of hands-on engineering work and manufacturing leadership. At Stabilus, he confronted a piston-rod plant beset by quality failures and warranty claims. He revised the NISLIDE coating process, addressed root causes, and brought weekly output from roughly 450,000 units to more than one million. Company letters describe the site's turnaround as a practical model that other locations studied and adapted.

Those technical fixes arrived with organizational change. Carrasco introduced kata coaching, a continuous improvement practice that invites operators to test small adjustments daily. Suggestions from line workers, altering torque-gun positioning, or changing a conveyor angle, led to concrete reductions in downtime. The flocking line for mechanical springs saw similar treatment: cleaner air management, reduced contamination, and a quieted workplace. Scrap dropped dramatically, and equipment effectiveness climbed toward the high 90s, while employee surveys recorded better morale after conditions improved. "The silence of a well-designed process speaks louder than any report," he observed.

Manufacturing with a Measured Aim

At Edscha Michigan, Carrasco aligned digital systems with human roles. Vision systems and sensors assumed repetitive inspection tasks, while operators shifted into oversight, analytics, and preventive maintenance duties. That redistribution of tasks trimmed cycle times by roughly one-third and eliminated many of the manual checks that had contributed to the backlog. Engineers across Edscha's global network noted the protocols and adapted parts of the system in Germany and Asia.

The practical benefits are paired with human outcomes. Turnover rates fell and injury metrics improved; operators reported less fatigue and greater confidence in production quality. Carrasco emphasizes traceability and data-driven decision making, yet he treats those tools as aids to judgment rather than substitutes for it. His plants present a model where precise machinery and skilled people interact, with the machine handling repetitive accuracy and the person focusing on problem-solving and quality assurance.

Colleagues call Carrasco a methodical leader who listens before acting. His projects emphasize reproducible gains: reduced scrap, faster throughput, and reliable supplier performance. At multiple sites he led, managers cited faster response times to engineering changes and improved supplier integration. The changes produced substantial commercial results for programs tied to major automakers while strengthening local manufacturing capability.

Carrasco's work reframes how success looks in modern production. Systems he has adjusted or installed display consistent output and cleaner environments. Workers perform fewer repetitive tasks and occupy roles that require judgment and technical oversight. That shift matters to customers and to the workforce, which increasingly handles diagnostics and preventive work rather than endless inspection. The result is a plant where machinery ensures repeatable quality and people preserve craftsmanship and oversight.